Cogito Ergo Sum
by Mini Kunoichi
Summary: Dr. Jessica Walker would rather be known for her contributions to modern psychology and philosophy. Instead, she's known for being one-half of the most important relationships of the 21st century. (Connor/OC) The story starts off before the game begins, but will take place mostly after the game's pacifist ending.
1. Chapter 1

The day was hot and muggy, and Jessica Walker really wished she hadn't decided to walk home. Thankfully, she was only a block away from her destination. Her blouse was clinging to her back and she was sure she'd just about sweated all of her makeup off. She probably had huge sweat stains under her pits, too.

She finally reached her front door, heels clicking against the metal wheelchair ramp placed over the porch steps. She inserted the key into the lock, jiggling it slightly to get it to unlock all the way.

"Welcome home, Jess," the android's voice was soft and soothing as always.

"Hey Cecily," Jess replied, balancing on one foot while she pulled off her shoe.

"How did the committee meeting go?" Cecily asked, moving to pick up the discarded footwear.

"Cecily, I can pick up after myself," Jess protested, using the opportunity to deflect. "You're-"

"I'm an MP600 designed provide home hospice care," she interrupted calmly, finishing the sentence. "But that doesn't mean that I can't look after you."

Cecily's main role was to care for Jess's elderly grandmother. She'd only bought the android a few months ago, when it became more expensive to hire a human nurse than to just bit the bullet and buy an android to take care of her grandmother's extensive medical needs. Jess wished that she could do it herself, she really did, but after the fifth time of coming home to her grandmother wearing nothing but a blanket and completely unaware that she was naked, Jess realized she was out of her depth.

"How is she, by the way?" Jess asked, deciding to change the topic abruptly.

"I was able to get her up and dressed with minimal protest. I gave her cream of wheat for breakfast. With extra brown sugar, like you suggested."

"Did she eat it?"

The android nodded.

Jess nodded too and headed towards her grandmother's room. "Good. That's good. Well, you can take a break now, I'll sit with her."

"Jess, I don't need to take breaks," the android reminded her gently, following the young woman through the kitchen to the back of the house. "And you never answered my question."

Jess stopped with her hand on the doorknob. She hadn't forgotten her reason for being out of the house this morning, she just didn't want to talk about it. She'd spent months collecting data and conducting experiments for her dissertation. Cecily had actually played an integral role in Jess's study on android psychology. Both by allowing Jess to interview her extensively multiple times, and by making sure she remembered to eat and drink during her marathon typing binges.

"It was harder to defend that I thought it would be," she admitted finally. "But they gave it to me in the end."

Cecily beamed with pride and threw her arms around the shorter woman.

"That's amazing, Jess! I'm so proud of you!"

 _'Androids don't have feelings' my pasty white ass,_ Jess thought as she hugged Cecily back.


	2. Chapter 2

As Cecily watched Jess snooze on the couch, she almost felt bad waking her up. But she'd identified the phone call as important and her programing required her to wake her owner in such a situation. She reached out and gently touched the young woman's shoulder.

"What?" Jess grumbled, opening one eye.

"The Director of R and D for CyberLife is on the phone,"

Jess sat up and took a moment to clear the fog from her head.

"What would he even want to talk to me about?" she asked, sighing when all she got from Cecily was a shrug. "Alright, where's the phone?"

Cecily transferred the call from her LED to the handheld phone before handing it to Jess. She then moved to her next task, making Ms. Ester's afternoon coffee. The steps would be second nature by now, if they hadn't already been programed.

She started a fresh pot of decaf and grabbed Ms. Esther's freshly washed mug from the dish drain, she measured out the correct amount of the newly-prescribed thickening powder into the bottom. Once the coffee was done, Cecily slowly poured the coffee into the mug and stirred carefully. Maybe if the coffee was thickened but not lumpy, Ms. Ester wouldn't dump it out on the floor this time.

"I've got your coffee, Ms. Ester," Cecily said as she walked in the old woman's room, which was approximately 20-degrees warmer than the rest of the house.

The 98-year-old was sitting in her wheelchair in front of a blaring tv. Exactly where Cecily had left her that morning, which was a good sign. What wasn't a good sign was the sight of Ester attempting to open the bag attached to her catheter.

"What are you trying to do, Ms. Ester?" Cecily asked calmly, setting the coffee on the nearby tray table.

"I need to get this open," the old woman muttered. "I have something to put in it."

The android gently took the bag from her hands and re-hooked it under the wheelchair. She would need to empty it soon. She distracted her charge by handing her the cup of thickened coffee.

"You'd better drink it before it gets cold," she said with a smile. "I know you like your coffee really hot."

While Ms. Ester was distracted, Cecily took the time to drain the catheter into a bedpan and empty it into the toilet. She would need to have her diaper changed before she took her afternoon nap. Something that Cecily was not looking forward to.

Once Ester was asleep, or at least playing possum, Cecily activated the sanitizing program in her hands before heading back through the kitchen into the living room. It seemed like Jess was just finishing up the phone call. That was strange, because Jess absolutely loathed talking on the phone. She preferred either meeting in person or communicating through email or text message.

"What did he want to talk about?" Cecily asked once she confirmed Jess was finished with the phone call.

Jess took a deep breath. "He wants me to teach psychology to an android," she said finally. Cecily blinked several times, trying to process the information she was just given.

"Can't it just upload anything it needs?" she asked.

"I don't have any published works, so there's really nothing to upload. It really won't take long for it to catch on, anyway. A couple of days, maybe," Jess replied.

"I hope they're paying you well for this," Cecily frowned. Her owner had a habit of doing things pro bono, and then wearing herself out while getting nothing out of it. One of many illogical things Jess did.

"Even better," the young woman replied. "They'll let me interview and research any android that's returned to them for program malfunctions."

The doorbell rang at exactly 10 o'clock. Since most androids are generally punctual, Jess was milling nearby. She opened the door to see one of the most attractive androids CyberLife had created thus far. Jess silently cursed her attraction to high cheekbones.

"Hello Dr. Walker, my name is Connor," he said in a rather matter-of-fact tone. "I'm the android sent by CyberLife."

"Straight to business, then," Jess replied, raising an eyebrow.

She stepped aside and motioned for Connor to step inside. He stopped a few steps into the house, gaze slowly moving from left to right. Probably scanning the house, Jess figured. She'd been sent an email from CyberLife outlining this model's functions and capabilities. It only made sense that Connor's first instinct would be to analyze his surroundings. Time to find out just how good this android was.

"So," Jess spoke up. "Tell me about myself."

Connor's brow furrowed slightly when he turned to look at her. His head tilted to the side and his chocolate eyes narrowed slightly. The subtle expression of confusion was remarkable. Something Jess had only seen in deviants thus far.

"I don't understand. Isn't it customary for you to introduce yourself?"

This android was just too adorable, Jess thought. Well . . . maybe 'adorable' wasn't quite the correct word. There was a curiosity in Connor that Jess hadn't seen in other androids. Maybe his programming made him seek to understand the world around him. It was too soon say for sure. Right now, she should probably answer him.

"Yes, that _is_ customary. But I want to see what your current programming is capable of."

She stepped around the android and headed towards the kitchen, gesturing for it to follow.

"What exactly would you like me to tell you?" Connor seemed even more confused as he followed obediently.

"Anything you can," Jess replied.

Connor nodded and took another minute to sort through and categorize all the information he'd just gathered. Jess waited patiently by the sink.

"There's a wheelchair ramp outside but you don't appear to need assistance walking, . . ." he started slowly. "Which means that you don't live alone. I would guess with an elderly family member."

"And how did you come to that conclusion?"

Connor pointed to something on the counter behind her elbow. Jess turned to see the jar of the thickening agent that went into her grandmother's liquids.

"There's also signs of pureed food," he continued. "The signs are consistent with someone with dysphagia, which is common in the elderly."

Before Jess could confirm his observations, Cecily walked into the kitchen with her grandmother's lunch dishes. Jess noticed her shoulders stiffen slightly, before nodding stiffly.

"Connor, this is Cecily," Jess decided to ignore the odd behavior for now. "She takes care of my grandmother, Ester."

"Hello, Cecily" Connor greeted flatly.

"Hello Connor," she replied as android-like as possible.

Connor pursed his lips slightly, and Jess took a moment to marvel at the fact that someone actually took the time to program micro-expressions into an android before she decided to distract Connor before he commented on Cecily's behavior.

"So, Connor," she started, grabbing a used coffee cup from the counter and filling it with fresh coffee. "Let's establish some ground rules."

Connor turned to face her fully and tilted his head slightly. It must be something he did when he was confused. But he also looked intensely focused. Like her rules were something sacrosanct and should be committed to a special folder on his hard drive. Which Jess thought was a really unsettling idea.

"There's only one rule, really," she admitted. "But it's one that I use with every android or human I've interviewed or studied."

Connor nodded, and she took that as the signal to continue. She walked back into the living room with her coffee as she talked.

"No lying. At all. I won't lie to you, and you won't lie to me. Now that doesn't mean that we must answer a question we're uncomfortable with. If you don't want to answer a question, just say so, and I'll do the same. Also, 'I don't know' is an acceptable answer."

"I see," Connor nodded again, though he still looked slightly confused. "I shall do my best to meet your expectations."

"That's all I ask."

Jess smiled encouragingly, and Connor found himself wishing that the people he'd worked with at CyberLife had been this patient and understanding. Then he reminded himself that machines don't make wishes.


End file.
